JP3232986B2 - Female terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a female terminal fitting having a function of preventing an elastic contact piece from being excessively deformed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general structure of a female terminal fitting comprises a box-shaped main body having an open front surface and an elastic contact piece folded inward from the front end of a substrate constituting one surface of the main body. A tab of a mating male terminal fitting is inserted from the opening of the main body while bending the elastic contact piece, so that the tab is elastically contacted with the elastic contact piece.

[0003] By the way, in such a female terminal fitting,
When the foreign matter enters and collides with the opening of the main body, the folded portion of the elastic contact piece may be excessively deformed. For example, when removing the female terminal fitting from the connector for maintenance, etc., the lance locked to the female terminal fitting is bent by a jig such as a driver to release the locking. As a result, the folded portion of the elastic contact piece may be protruded and deformed excessively. In this case, the elastic force of the elastic contact piece is impaired, and when the tab of the male terminal fitting is inserted again, a sufficient contact force may not be obtained.

[0004] For this reason, there is conventionally known an elastic contact piece provided with a protection means for preventing a folded portion of the elastic contact piece from being hit by a foreign substance. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a protection piece 34 is provided to extend from one side edge of the elastic contact piece 32 at the opening of the main body 31 with the folded portion 33 interposed therebetween. Is bent toward the other side edge of the opening and abuts the side edge. That is, the protection piece 34 covers the front of the folded portion 33 of the elastic contact piece 32, and is protected from being pushed by the foreign matter such as the jig a.

[0005]

However, since the conventional device has a structure in which the elongated protection piece 34 is provided in a cantilever shape from one side edge of the opening, the protection piece 34 intersects the insertion direction of the tab. When subjected to a force in a direction, the rock tends to swing and deform in the same direction. For example, as shown in FIG.
When the jig a is inserted and hooked on the lance 35 to release the lock of the jig a, and the tip of the jig a is erroneously tilted upward as indicated by the solid arrow, the protection piece 34 moves upward from the base. While being oscillated, the folded portion 33 of the elastic contact piece 32 is excessively deformed so as to be lifted, and when the tab of the male terminal fitting is inserted again, the deformed protective piece 34 and the folded portion 3 are deformed.
There is a possibility that the 3 cannot be inserted smoothly and cannot be inserted smoothly.

When the jig a is erroneously inserted into the insertion space of the tab as shown by the chain line in FIG. The elastic contact piece 32 is oscillatingly deformed downward from the base.
Is excessively deformed so that the folded portion 33 is crushed. Therefore, there is a possibility that the elastic force is impaired and a sufficient contact force cannot be obtained when the tab is inserted again. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and has as its object to more reliably prevent an elastic contact piece, particularly a folded portion thereof, from being excessively deformed.

[0007]

As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention of claim 1 is directed to a box-shaped main body having a front opening in a rectangular shape, and a main body having a rectangular shape . With an elastic contact piece folded inward from the front end of the substrate constituting one surface,
In a female terminal fitting in which a tab of a mating male terminal fitting is elastically contactable with the elastic contact piece while bending the elastic contact piece from the opening of the main body portion, the tab at the opening of the main body portion is provided. Width across the folded part of the elastic contact piece
Protective strip to one side edge of a pair of side edges facing the direction is provided extending, other tip of the protective piece is the opening
By being bent toward one of the side edges, the elastic contact piece can be protected by covering the front of the folded portion, and the other side edge of the opening is engaged with the tip of the protective piece. It is characterized in that a restricting portion for restricting the protection piece from swinging and deforming in a direction intersecting with the insertion direction of the tab is provided. A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the present invention, the restricting portion is formed in a groove shape in which a tip portion of the protection piece fits tightly.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a foreign substance tries to push the folded portion of the elastic contact piece from the front, it is prevented by hitting the protection piece. If foreign matter enters the upper surface or lower surface of the folded portion and tries to press the folded portion in a direction that intersects the insertion direction of the tab, the protection piece is rocked and deformed in the same direction by the regulating portion. Is regulated, the movement of the foreign matter is regulated by the protection piece, and an excessive load is prevented from being applied to the folded portion. That is, an effect is obtained in which the folded portion of the elastic contact piece can be prevented from being excessively deformed over a wide range.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described functions and effects, the tip of the protective piece is tightly fitted in the groove-shaped restricting portion, so that the protective piece is assembled in a box shape. The effect of reinforcing the shape is obtained by playing the role of a reinforcing material.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
A description will be given with reference to FIG. The female terminal fitting F of the present embodiment is formed by pressing a single thin metal plate, and is mainly peeled off the insulation barrel 1 for crimping the end of the covering 22 of the electric wire 21 and the covering 22. It consists of a wire barrel 2 for crimping the end of the core wire 23 that has been put out, and a main body 3 provided in front of the wire barrel 2 (see FIG. 5).

The main body 3 has a developed shape as shown in FIG. 2, in which both side plates 6, 7 are bent from the bottom plate 5, and two ceiling plates 8, 9 continuous from the both side plates 6, 7 are vertically extended. By stacking them, they are assembled in an elongated box shape with both front and rear sides open. On the lower ceiling plate 8, a ridge 10 is formed along the length direction.

An elastic contact piece 12 is provided in the main body 3. The elastic contact piece 12 is provided so as to extend from the front edge of the bottom plate 5 in a state where the main body portion 3 is unfolded, and from the base folded portion 13 before the bending process of the both side plates 6 and 7. It is formed by folding inwardly into a mountain shape, and has an appropriate elastic force. The tab of the mating male terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted from the opening on the front surface of the main body 3 while bending the elastic contact piece 12 so that the top of the elastic contact piece 12 and the projection of the lower ceiling plate 8 protrude. The connection is achieved by being elastically clamped between the ridges 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, a piece 15 for preventing excessive bending is cut and raised from the bottom plate 5. As shown in FIG. The excessive bending prevention piece 15 functions to prevent the elastic contact piece 12 from being excessively bent by exceeding the elastic limit by abutting the back surface of the elastic contact piece 12. Also, the excessive bending prevention piece 1 on the bottom plate 5
At the rear of 5, a locking hole 16 into which a locking portion 26 of a lance 25 provided in a cavity of the female housing (not shown) is fitted.

In the opening on the front face of the main body 3, there is provided a protection piece 18 for covering and protecting the front of the folded portion 13 of the elastic contact piece 12. In the unfolded shape, the protection piece 18 is formed so as to extend from a lower region at the front edge of the one side plate 7, and as shown in FIG.
After the main body 3 is assembled, it is bent at a right angle toward the front edge of the other side plate 6.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, a protruding portion 19 is formed at the upper end of the protection piece 18 by cutting off the lower side in the width direction. In the front edge of the other side plate 6, a fitting groove 20 into which the protrusion 19 is fitted tightly is formed. When the protection piece 18 is bent and the projection 19 at the tip fits into the fitting groove 20, the tip of the projection 19 is flush with the side plate 6.

That is, the protective piece 18 is provided below the opening on the front surface of the main body 3 so as to extend between the left and right side edges. The abutment receives a force from the front, and the protrusion 19 is tightly fitted between the upper and lower surfaces of the fitting groove 20, thereby preventing vertical swing. .

The female terminal fitting F of this embodiment has the above-described structure, and its operation will be described below. Electric wire 21
When the female terminal fitting F fixed to the end of the female housing is inserted into the cavity of the female housing, the lance 25 provided in the cavity fits into the locking hole 16 as shown in FIG. Housed in state. Then, when the male terminal fitting is mated with the mating male housing, the tab of the male terminal fitting also accommodated therein is inserted into the main body 3 as described above, and the elastic contact piece 12 Are elastically contacted between.

When performing maintenance, the male and female housings are first disengaged, and the tabs of the male terminal fittings are pulled out from the main body 3 of the female terminal fitting F accordingly. Subsequently, the female terminal fitting F is extracted from the female housing. In this case, the jig a is inserted from the jig insertion opening opened in the front surface of the housing, and the jig a is hung on the tip of the lance 25. Deflected downward against elasticity.
As a result, the locking portion 26 of the lance 25 is moved to the female terminal fitting F.
Of the electric wire 2
By pulling 1, the female terminal fitting F is pulled out of the cavity.

When the jig a is inserted to release the locking of the lance 25, the jig a is erroneously inserted from the opening on the front surface of the main body 3 of the female terminal fitting F, and the elastic contact piece 12 is inserted. Even if the folded portion 13 is hit by the jig a, the tip of the jig a is abutted against the protection piece 18 to prevent the situation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, after the jig a is properly inserted and hooked on the lance 25, the tip of the jig a is erroneously tilted upward as indicated by the solid arrow, thereby causing the elastic contact. Even if the folded portion 13 of the piece 12 is pushed upward, the protection piece 18 is not protruded.
Are fitted into the fitting groove 20 and cannot be rocked and deformed. Therefore, the movement of the jig a is restricted by the protection piece 18,
The turning-up portion 13 is prevented from being pushed up.

Further, as shown by a chain line in FIG.
Is inserted into the insertion space side of the tab by mistake, and the tip of the jig a is tilted downward as shown by the arrow of the dashed line, the fold 13 of the elastic contact piece 12 may be crushed. In such a case as well, the protection piece 18 is held so as not to be able to swing and deform, and the movement of the jig a is regulated by the protection piece 18, so that the folded portion 13 is prevented from being crushed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the protective piece 1
8 is held so as not to oscillate and deform.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a case in which a foreign substance attempts to push the folded portion 13 of the elastic contact piece 12 from the front, and then enters the upper surface or the lower surface of the folded portion 13 and folds in a direction intersecting the tab insertion direction. Even when the portion 13 is to be pressed, it can be prevented, that is, the folded portion 13 of the elastic contact piece 12 can be prevented from being excessively deformed over a wide range.

Further, since the projection 19 at the tip of the protection piece 18 is tightly fitted in the fitting groove 20, the protection piece 18 functions as a reinforcing member for the main body 3 assembled in a box shape. Also, the advantage that the shape holding function is enhanced can be obtained.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) It is not always necessary to fit the tip of the protective piece tightly into the mating groove of the mating member, and if the swinging deformation can be restricted, the excessive deformation of the folded portion of the elastic contact piece can be similarly widened. Can be prevented. (2) Further, as means for restricting the swinging deformation of the protection piece, a structure may be employed in which the tip of the protection piece is fitted into a window hole opened in the side plate of the other party. In this case, the main body may be assembled after bending the protective piece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a female terminal fitting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a development view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an assembled state.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion provided with a protection piece.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the function of a protection piece.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional female terminal fitting.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F: Female terminal fitting 3: Main body 6, 7 ... Side plate 5 ... Bottom plate (substrate) 12 ... Elastic contact piece 13 ... Folding portion 18 ... Protective piece 19 ... Protrusion 20 ... Fitting groove

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-306420 (JP, A) JP-A-9-55246 (JP, A) JP-A-8-321343 (JP, A) 65970 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 5-59757 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 7-18365 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 5-48371 (JP, Y2) Japanese Utility Model 4-29508 (JP, Y2) 7-41100 (JP, Y2) WO 96/42121 (WO, A1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/10 H01R 13/11 H01R 13/11 303

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A male terminal fitting comprising a box-shaped main body having a rectangular front opening and an elastic contact piece folded inward from a front end of a substrate constituting one surface of the main body. Wherein the tab is inserted so as to be able to resiliently contact the elastic contact piece while bending the elastic contact piece from the opening of the main body portion, wherein the folded portion of the elastic contact piece at the opening of the main body portion A protection piece is provided to extend to one side edge of a pair of side edges opposed to each other in the width direction with the tip of the protection piece being bent toward the other side edge of the opening,
The elastic contact piece can be protected by covering the front of the folded portion, and the other side edge of the opening is engaged with the tip of the protective piece so that the protective piece intersects the insertion direction of the tab. A female terminal fitting provided with a restricting portion for restricting swing deformation in a direction in which the female terminal fitting is formed. 2. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion is formed in a groove shape in which a tip portion of the protection piece fits tightly.